Supportive Housing – Not the End of the Line

Kathy Booton Wilson, MSW, LCSW

Deborah’s Place

Chicago, Illinois

End of HomelessnessBeginning of a New Life

• Is housing the end of the road? • “The road leading to a goal does not

separate you from the destination; it is essentially a part of it.”  ~Charles DeLint

• The dichotomy of acceptance and challenge

Life Skills vs. Living

• Working with participants in the context of their every-day lives

• Housing First

• How do we structure our time?

• Options!

• Current Goals   Future Goals

• Humanities Program

Humanities Program

• Earl Shorris’ Riches for the Poor: The Clemente Course in the Humanities

• “The Authority of Experience” (bell hooks)

• Critical Thinking and the Capacity to Explore New Options

• A New Context for Decision-Making

• Expanding the World

More Humanities

• History, Anthropology and Archaeology

• Literature, Languages, and Linguistics

• Philosophy, Ethics, and Comparative Religion

• Jurisprudence• History• The Expressive Arts

• Visual Art• Mathematics• Geography• Women’s Studies• Multiculturalism and

the Arts• Recovery (from a

philosophical, spiritual and historical perspective)

• Perspectives of “Home”

The Recovery Model

• Created by Dr. Patricia Deegan

• Hope, Willingness and Responsible Action

• People have the right to take risks and to fail

• Compliance is not a desired outcome

• Self-determination is a desired outcome

• Focus on what gives life meaning for each individual

The Practical Stuff:Preparing for Housing Transition

• Identify concerns, fears, dreams

• Finding the right place

• Needs-focused budgeting

• Preparing to move

• Neighbors and landlords

• Life balance – socialization and isolation

• Linking to the community

Life in the Community

• Transition, Try-Out, Transfer of Care

• Preparing for Different Service Models

• Making linkage to services a win-win for providers

• Ways for Relationships to Continue: Alumni Gatherings, Daytime Service Centers, Crisis Intervention

Am I Ready?

• Desire to move on - what is the motivation

• Thinking beyond today

• Demonstrating skills in every-day life

• Ability to anticipate problems and prepare

• Linkage with services

Case Management with Landlords

• Landlord relationships need to be managed too

• Respond quickly to problems

• Visit regularly

• It’s okay to have expectations of the landlord and of the client

Strategies that Work

• Start Early

• Abide by client’s timeline

• Reflect progress, however seemingly small

• Housing is not an end, but a transition

• Maintain relationships with client, landlord and community resources

Vignettes

• Julie’s Story – Living with mental illness and learning to negotiate relationships

• Eva’s Story – Parenting in real life

• Kyra’s Story – Using the humanities to expand perspectives

Resources• Riches for the Poor: The Clemente Course in the Humanities, by

Earl Shorris

• Socrates Café: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy, by Christopher Phillips

• www.socratescafemn.org

• Housing Interest Survey (attached)

• Working with Landlords (attached)

• http://www.huduser.org/Publications/pdf/permhsgstudy.pdf

Katharine Booton Wilson

Deborah’s Place

2822 W. Jackson Blvd

Chicago, IL 60612

773-722-5080

kbwilson@deborahsplace.org

www.deborahsplace.org